Hillary Clinton’s Beer Drinking Sets a Great Example for Moms

Beer loving ladies of America, we have officially arrived! After years of being shifted to the background while the Carrie Bradshaws of the world sip their cosmopolitans, a photo of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hoisting a beer to her lips at the Cafe Havana in Cartagena, Colombia that's gone viral could bring the change we've always wanted. Could we soon see beer as the official beverage of badass chicas everywhere?

With the role Secretary Clinton's been enjoying in the national zeitgeist of late (if you haven't caught an iteration of the texts from Hillary meme yet, just wait ... you will), I wouldn't be surprised to see some copycat beer drinking mamas in bars across the country sooner rather than later. And as one of the ladies who likes a good brewski now and then, I have to say it's about time!

We are grown-ups. We don't have to stick to pink and fruity drinks. We can wrap our lips around a lager or drink what's on draught!

It's unofficial, but the way the surveys tell it, beer is already the national alcoholic drink. With the exception of 2005 -- when wine shocked the folks at Gallup by taking the top spot -- the brewed beverage has been the alcoholic drink most favored by Americans since 1992. But for some reason, ladies have lagged behind the guys on climbing aboard the beer bandwagon. According to some estimates, as few as 25 percent of women will grab a cold one out of the fridge.

I'm not surprised by the numbers. I can't tell you how many times I've been spotted, beer in hand, at a party, only to have another lady ask how I can drink "that stuff." My response? Have they actually tasted the "stuff"? Since high school, I mean? There are good beers and there's the swill that should be poured down the sink pronto. It's no different in that respect from the top shelf liquor versus the stuff you can only stomach with a heavy dose of juice or soda mixed in.

Unfortunately, until Hillary went all Swillary on us down in Colombia, there hasn't been much ado about ladies and the brews.

The bulk of beer ads are marketed directly to men. And then there are our drinking "role models," so to speak. Who do we really have? The Carries of the world, sucking down pink drinks like they're going out of style? It's no wonder grown ass women are afraid to belly up to the bar and order a beer!

But maybe Hillary Clinton and her tastes for the suds can change all that. If it's good enough for the most powerful woman in America, it's got to be good enough for the rest of us, right?

What's your favorite alcoholic beverage for de-stressing after a summit with other heads of state, er, a long week?